The Story of Cal
by StealthNeko
Summary: "Sometimes, things change for the better." How many times had he heard that before? But somehow, when she said them, he finally managed to believe them. OCxMiss Martian
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi everybody! I've been lurking around the YJ section for awhile now, and I finally decided to write something of my own for it. I also tried out a new style of writing, so let me know if it sounds weird in any places.**

**Thanks for reading!**

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The first time they met, they were on opposite sides of the law: She was a Martian, and one with a secret to keep, one she would not spill to anyone. He was desperate for money, and had disguised himself in a black trench coat and matching fedora, hiding his body and his face in shadow. Kid Flash was the first to respond to the alarm from the bank across the street of the restaurant the team had entered after a mission, and she had flown over a few minutes later.

This bank had a Wayne Tech security system, which made it more or less a perfect system for keeping just about any crazy super villain out and here he was, casually strolling straight through it, alarms blazing and phasing through lasers as though they didn't matter to him. The only reason they had not stopped him yet was out of sheer awe; after all, these lasers were set to 'slice' and not to 'trigger the alarm'.

"Is it cool if I rob this bank? Or are you planning on stopping me?" He had asked, and judging by the way it had cracked mid-sentence, he was most likely in his teenage years. That snapped them out of their little moment

Kid Flash approached first, before anyone could object, running at top speed to stop him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The mystery boy remarked as he seemed to disappear right before impact.

"What the heck-?" Kid Flash was cut off by someone tapping his shoulder. He turned around to see nothing but fading darkness.

"Not what, but where, huh?" The kid laughed as he twirled a sack probably full of money a few feet away. The way his face was hidden showed them nothing but his smile, and it wasn't the usual malice-filled smirk they normally saw; he was just as surprised as they were.

Superboy then attempted to intercede, but he was far too slow; The boy was already behind him and casually walking toward the exit.

"Is that all you got?" Another taunt from the thief as Aqualad and Robin charged at him, Aqualad's weapons at the ready, and Robin throwing in birdarangs. He dodged them with ease, but he had not seen the archer that flanked off to the side. She had gotten him with a Net Arrow… Or so she thought.

"How did he get out of that?" Artemis had asked, and Aqualad remained alert as Robin looked at the net.

"He didn't cut it, so he's probably a teleporter…" Robin gritted his teeth. He had dealt with their kind before, but he had not seen a flash of light or any other sign of teleportation.

"That's a plausible theory. But I'm not so sure." He appeared before them, sitting down next to the net, the sack of money still in his left hand. "But nice deduction, Ace." And then he was gone, without any sign to say what his motive was.

M'gann had watched from the sidelines, while secretly picking apart his memories. Or rather, one memory in particular. "I know where to go!" She flew out of the building, the team following her out.

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Calvin Hughes was down on his luck. He was only sixteen, no money to his name and no parents to guide him through life, and stuck in an orphanage that was going to close down due to increasing costs. It was then, walking down the street after hearing the news that the man had come to him. Calvin could not see his face even in broad daylight and it was almost as if the shadows were hiding his face. This man, who would not identify himself, had given him a single gift.

"Should you choose to accept this, it can help you save them." This mystery man had said, and at this point the youngest of the pair was beyond desperation.

"Okay, sure." The second the words had left his mouth, he had felt the change and the pain was beyond extraordinary.

When he awoke, he realized that he wasn't wearing the same outfit; it had been replaced with the trench coat and fedora, complete with shirt and pants all in black. Shadows curled around his feet, and he realized that they were waiting for him to order them. They guided him, in a way, and he learned he could also use shadows as transportation for short distances, as well as solidify shadows to shield and attack for him.

He had use these gifts sparingly, taking just enough money to save the younger kids, but time was running out to pay the outstanding debts before they closed the place down. So he robbed the bank, and he toyed with the superheroes that challenged him because for the first time in his life he could do something to change his luck and he reveled in the moment. But of course, as it was to all villains, that reveling in the moment got him busted. They were waiting for him on the porch of his home and Cal knew right there and then he would not be escaping them a second time. Mostly because he was being held up in the air and the second he was disconnected from his shadows he was powerless.

"Well you caught me. But may I ask how you went about it?" Calvin asked as he was trying to stall for time, waiting for the moment he was put down so he could just _leave the money in their office_.

"Well Calvin, it wasn't too hard when we can read your mind." The Martian stepped forward with a somewhat apologetic smile on her face. "I'm sorry I had to delve into your personal life, but we can't just let you steal from banks."

"Oh, so you're just going to separate those kids in there from the only home they have left because I stole a few thousand dollars from some rich folks? Spare me the heroics, Greenie." His anger came from his own failure, and it was apparent that she knew it too.

She pried the bag from his hand, and made sure that all the money that was taken was now accounted for. "This money also came from people who worked hard to get it and it isn't fair to them-"

She was cut off by Calvin. "Didn't I say spare me your stupid convoluted version of heroism? Just give the poor kids the money. They need it a lot more than those other people do. Not like you would know seeing as all your messes are picked up by someone else, you're probably backed by some rich person who handles everything, and you don't know a damn thing about struggle-"

He was cut off by another member of their group, the Superman knockoff from earlier. The fist slammed into his face before he even had the chance to blink, and he was out before his body hit the floor.

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Calvin awoke sometime later, in what seemed to be a hospital. He woke up groggily, and he realized he still couldn't feel half of his face. There was a mirror on the opposite wall; he didn't waste time getting out of bed to see his reflection, but it was what he saw that disturbed him.

"My shadows are… gone." That struck fear into him; he had to hide his face to make sure no one could see it ever again, but the shadows would not come forth to hide his crimson eyes and sharp teeth. He was borderline panicking when he heard a door open, and the figure who walked through that door wasn't someone he wanted to see this close, ever.

After all, it isn't every day you're face to face with Batman.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry about the lack of fluff friends! I needed to get this out of the way, but the next chapter will start to show more fluff I promise!**

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The Dark Knight eyed him wearily. From what he had from the team this kid could potentially be extremely powerful. But seeing him cower before the superhero, small hands trying to cover up a face larger than they are, he could see nothing but a scared child.

"Give me back my hat." Cal had murmured, not wanting anyone to see him like this. Not even the other orphans had seen his face when he had come back that day, and he intended to keep it that way.

"We'll return it as soon as we ask you some questions." Blunt, yet still overly terrifying to the young teen.

"What kind of… questions?" Nervous hesitation surrounded the shadowmancer and came off him in waves.

"Only two: One, where did you get your powers?" Cal flinched. "Two, we can help you out with your trouble with the law, and save your home, if you are willing to work with us. Do we have a deal?"

If Cal were drinking anything, he probably would have spit it out in the hero's face. "The first one I can't honestly answer, but what about question two? I mocked your team, said some pretty messed up things, and now you're telling me you'll save my home for no reason and I have to work with them, and some of the scariest people in the world, with no strings attached?"

Batman raised an eyebrow. "That's essentially what I'm saying, yes. One member of the team actually vouched for you and that's enough to give you a chance. But I will warn you from now." If the slits in Batman's mask could get any smaller, they probably just did. "If you so much as jaywalk from this point on, it's straight to jail. Do I make myself clear?"

Cal whimpered out a noise of agreement and Batman threw him his clothes. In all his years, the Dark Knight had never seen someone change so fast, and was slightly shocked to see the shadows cover his face like a veil.

There was a slight moment of hesitation. Cal could have used this opportunity to get the heck out of Dodge if he wanted to, but something against his better judgment went ahead and blurted, "I suppose I should get the hated glares over with, huh?" His voice was much larger than it was a moment ago, and he supposed with the shadows hiding him, he had nothing left to fear.

"Follow me." Batman turned, and walked briskly down the hall, with Cal actually keeping pace.

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It was 15 minutes walking through a maze of corridors with the silent hero before Calvin noticed a change in the interior. It spilled out into an open expanse, wide enough fit the huge supercomputers that took up a fraction of the room. The rest of it was a flat platform, surrounded by the walls of the actual cave. Loitering around were the members of the team he had encountered earlier, as well as three others he recognized immediately: Red Tornado, a Green Lantern, and Black Canary. Surprisingly enough, not everyone was staring at him with some bad intention. The Lantern Corps member looked almost intrigued, with a slight smirk on his face, and the girl who had read his mind smiled slightly and waved at him. He was almost tempted to smile back, but he did not want her to see his serrated teeth, so he settled with a nod almost unnoticeable and a frown.

"Team, I would like to introduce a new member. This is-"

"Caligon. The name's Caligon." No way was there ever a superhero named Calvin, and he didn't want to resort to something stupid like Shadow or something.

"Caligon will be working with you from here on out. M'gann, you'll be his chaperone." Superboy's jaw nearly dropped when Batman spoke those words.

She flew over with that same smile on her face, and surprisingly, there was no hostility in her expression. "Nice to meet you, Caligon." She held out a hand for him to shake but he didn't return the gesture.

"Likewise. Now could you tell your dog to stop growling at me?" He responded haughtily to the piercing gaze he felt from Connor's direction.

"What did you just call me?" Superboy's voice was irradiating the anger he felt inside at this newcomer's remarks. Caligon had lashed out at the one person who had showed Superboy what it was to be kind to others, and now the newcomer had the audacity to direct his aggression toward him? Not on his watch.

"So I guess this is the part where I ask you to show me around?" Cal ignored the clone, focusing more on his chaperone, much to the chagrin of the former.

"Um, yes. I can show you your room first if you'd like." She responded with a slight frown at his remark toward Connor, but remained polite for now.

"All I really want is a kitchen right now, to be honest. It feels like I haven't eaten in three days." He smiled a bit too wide and she gasped at his teeth. His mouth shut immediately.

"Um… Okay." She flew off, and he followed her, guessing she was going to lead him straight toward their source of food.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So I realized how absolutely terrible my third person is last chapter. I have also begun rewatching the show to get the characterization right, so don't worry about that! So without further ado, Cal's perspective.**

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It's been a week since I got here, and trust me on this, the superhero gig isn't all it's cracked up to be. So far, the only person who actually talks to me is M'gann and soon I might actually trust her enough to call her a friend. But right now, I don't think anyone is trustworthy. They glare at me like I'm some kind of criminal… Okay, so I _was _at one point but they need to stop dwelling on that. I gave up trying three days in, when I was forced to sit on the sidelines during combat practice because no one wanted to partner up with me and M'gann was forced to train with Artemis. So that's where I am now, eating some cereal in the kitchen and musing over all these thoughts. Batman told me to get along with everyone, and I'm mucking that up real good.

The door across the room opens, and I can literally see the smile from Kid Flash's face lose its shine the moment he sees me. I finish my food in a hurry, put my bowl and sppon in the sink, and waste no time in leaving the room through the door on the left, almost bumping into M'gann in the process. And behind her, of course, stands her forever watching Superjerk.

"Sorry", I mumble before attempting to skirt around her, but she blocks me off with an arm. She looks at me concerned, and before I can tell her to not waste her concern with me, she speaks.

"Are you okay? You looked nervous." I had stopped using the shadows to hide my face as a peace offering of sorts, but that seemed to only agitate everyone further.

"It's fine. Don't waste your time worrying about me. Go hang out with _your team_, the one I am clearly not a part of or ever will be." Now don't get me wrong, I am not normally one to complain. After all, complaining in the situation I was in wouldn't have helped anyone. I was more ticked to be honest. For the first time in my life, someone had given me an important job and actually expected me to be able to do it. To be honest, this was the second time I ever felt disappointed in letting someone down.

I was about to leave as she had moved her arm, before her hand moved to my shoulder and she smiled warmly at me. "I don't know about the others, but I think you're a part of this team now. Just give the others a chance to come around. Maybe after a while, things will change for the better."

I really didn't know if the smile I had on my face was genuine or sarcastic. It was weird that someone I had snapped at would actually take the time out of her day to talk to me when she had other friends that were… well, to be honest, they were better than me. It bothered me that they excluded me too, another first since I've been here.

"Thanks for that I guess." I sighed when she giggled at my half-assed thank you. "I honestly don't get why you waste your time talking to me, you know that?"

"Well it's because I saw who you really are, I guess. You just need to show them that you aren't such a bad guy, that's all!"

And with that, she dragged me back into the kitchen using her telekinesis to make sure I didn't run away.

It was awkward for about the first five minutes, with a silence that was so thick I could cut it with a shadow. Even Superjerk, who had listened to our entire conversation, joined in on it. M'gann nudged me forward, and I averted my eyes from theirs. No matter what, this was still far too awkward for me to handle alone. But then again, she literally had my back so I guess had no choice but to start the conversation.

"Um… Hey." And the award for smoothest talker goes to Calvin 'Caligon' Hughes. It's strange how I can be so confident when my face is hidden, but as soon as the hat comes off I can only talk to people in groups of two or smaller. I wonder if this is another side effect of whatever happened when I gained my powers, but right now I am more worried about this conversation going well.

"What's troubling you, Caligon?" It was Aqualad who spoke up then. And the rest were eyeing me like I was dangerous or something. Granted, everyone here was dangerous in their own way, and that made me feel like even more of an outsider.

"I get that you all don't like me. It's cool and I honestly can say that is a very wise choice but… I dunno, it would be nice to have a chance to prove myself instead of being put on the sidelines. Is that too much to ask?" Hopefully that would get my point across. I owed it to Batman for not sending me to jail, and to saving the one place I called home but I couldn't tell them that.

For a second it appeared that the team leader was mulling it over, and I honestly held my breath for that brief moment until he spoke.

"It's true that it was unfair of us to not give you a chance, especially since M'gann personally vouched for you, and it seems as though Batman approved as well. I apologize if we were overly rude, although some of the hostility was warranted." Well, he had a point there. But it was nice to be somewhat accepted into things now.

"I suppose we never really introduced ourselves did we?" Robin approached first, with a hand stretched toward me. "I'm Robin."

Tentatively, the shadow of my hand reached up and shook his. "And you're wearing a joy buzzer." He frowned at my chuckle and looked at Wally. I couldn't exactly tell what kind of look he was giving the speedster, but I'm guessing it was that one you give your friend when they give bad advice.

The introductions went around after that without a hitch. It was nice to know that they actually thought of me as a human being and not some evil thing. I really hope that from here on out, things start looking up.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I have very subliminal fluff for you all today. Like you need a magnifying glass for it. Anyway, next chapter might be better for it... SO STAY TUNED!**

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"Again!"

How many freaking times has she repeated that word in the last 15 minutes? Combat training was under way , and I was so behind everyone else. Granted, I had no experience actually fighting and I was going up against people who learned how to fight from their mentors (or in Superboy's case, fed to him telepathically) but it was actually fun to learn, except for the ton of bruises I would have afterwards.

Robin came at me again, swinging from the left, so I crouched low and strafed to the right as I punched near his ribcage. It connected, but from my vantage point I could not see the elbow coming down from above. I fell to the floor.

"Not bad, you actually managed to hit… Maybe you should try using your powers. Strength may not be your thing." Black Canary mentioned for Superboy to come forward. "Superboy will be your partner, seeing as he's the most resilient. Use any means to win."

We stood about 30 feet apart, and the second he began moving forward, I moved the cave's shadows to form a thick trip cable in front of him. I figured I got him, but then I heard a voice in the back of my head and as his foot touched the cable it shattered.

_That won't work. But then again, you should know that._

Letting out one of his trademarks yells, Superboy's fist began coming down toward my face. Using a different shadow, I formed a shield around myself, but as it shattered without even trying to resist the voice rang out again after laughing at my failure.

_You can't even block a punch let alone fight. Why do you even bother trying when you're so weak?_

His fist twisted around, trying to avoid my face I guess, and hit me square in the stomach sending me flying back. I was borderline unconscious as I heard. "We're done here for today. M'gann, can you take him to the infirmary?" I didn't hear her answer before I knocked out.

Something I should have mentioned about my powers: They have a dark side. And before you laugh because you think it's a pun about shadows I can assure you this is much more serious than that. Not only does my physiology change to look a bit more demonic with my red eyes and sharp teeth but I also have to deal with my own personal Darkness. Think of an amalgamation of everything you don't like about yourself (doubts, fears, secrets and the like) and put it into a form that looks like the person you want to be, who has all the thing you want but bullies you because you don't have them. My own self-doubt after seeing everyone do their hero thing has made it stronger. Before I could ignore it, but now I can't even think about combat without it taunting me.

On the bright side, it did not attack me while I was unconscious. It was strange being conscious and unconscious at the same time. It's almost as if you're in a dream, but you aren't exactly dreaming but floating in a very thick layer of Limbo. It's also very dark and the only reason you know you aren't dead is because you can hear the people talking around you.

"Are you sure he's gonna be okay?" That was Superboy, which meant he actually didn't mean to all out and nearly kill me. I was whelmed.

"He should be, but it seems as though something's wrong with him, couldn't you tell?" So M'gann noticed. Not all that surprising seeing as I hung out with her the most.

I was slowly slipping out of it, as a light began to take over the darkness and then I was in a bed with them standing over me. "Hello." I was still a bit groggy and my stomach was on fire from the pain and judging by the clock behind their heads I had been out for a few hours. "Nice arm", I glared at Superboy, although it looked more like I was falling back asleep.

"I thought you could handle it." I. HATE. This. Guy.

"Not everyone is a freakin clone of-"

"Why don't we all just calm down and let Cal rest, okay?" M'gann made Superjerk leave the room before turning to me. "What's going on between you two? You can't even be in the same room anymore!"

"I just don't like that guy. Simple as that." As if I didn't see the way they looked at each other.

"You know how I feel about-"

"I know, but that doesn't change a darn thing."

She sighed and paused for a moment as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Get better soon okay? Maybe if you do, you can come with us on our next mission. We head out tomorrow."

"Well for all I know I have super healing that I'm unaware of." I grinned at her chuckle and then frowned at her ruffling what little hair I didn't cut off.

"Well then I'll see you when we get back and we'll go out for ice cream or something?"

"Okay, cool. I'll be here. In agony." She laughed again as she exited the room.

I had decided that I needed to face my Darkness and beat it before she got back. I did not want anyone to see it because I didn't exactly know where I stood with all of them. Sure Kaldur and M'gann were fine, it was more Superboy and Wally. Superboy for obvious reasons and because Wally seems to have issues with new people on the team, as he still has issues with Artemis and she's been here maybe a few weeks more than I have. But for now, I need to recover. I am going to need all my strength should I have to fight this thing alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: HELLO FRIENDS! This is Chapter 5, and I already have 4 reviews and a small following! Thanks for your support! This is a small gap to explain a small bit of Cal's inner struggle and the introduction of Cal's mentor. For those curious, they are currently in Bialya which explains why they are absent.**

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I waited a full day after everyone else to start the process. I also made sure that Red Tornado was not nearby before making my way to the training room. It took me a short while to calm down and even out my breathing before using my energy to bring my shadow up off the floor at first it was just like a silhouette standing in front of me, but then the illusion's head tilted to the side and took a few steps back as he slowly came into focus. He was taller than me and much stronger, or so he appeared. He wasn't what he appeared to be last time. He was frail and weak then, and something inside of me knew there was no way I could send him back just through sheer force of will.

"_You called me out… That's impressive in and of itself. You aren't as weak as I expected you to be… But you're spent for a few hours unless you want to burn yourself out."_

I cringed as he smirked. He knew my limits and know that he was sure he was safe, the insults would begin.

"_So how has been assimilating going? Considering you aren't trusted by one, another dislikes you and the one person you actually like on this team appears to love another and will soon abandon you, I would say it's going pretty good."_

"Big words for someone who's only a fraction of what I am and pretends to be so much more than he actually is." My irritation was rising and I knew I had to calm down, but the words that came out of his moth were my own thoughts, the ones I would never verbalize.

"_Why are you getting so defensive? I'm not Superboy moving in unintentionally on M'gann. I suggest you tone it down and admit that you might like her. And while we're on admitting things, you should also admit that you are weak and you can't compete with these people. You aren't strong enough, not yet."_

"What do you think I've been doing here, twiddling my thumbs?!" I grabbed him by the collar as the sound of the Zeta tube called out a designation, but I wasn't paying attention to it. "So what if I do like her? That isn't important! What's important is getting stronger right now! Besides… She has someone else."

The shadow asshole actually smiled as he began to fade away. "_You admitted it to yourself without doubt. My job here's done, for now."_

My smile mimicked his until I heard someone clearing their throat to my left. I turned to see the Green Lantern that was here on my first day. He was smiling awkwardly as if he knew something he- Oh. OH NO!

"Y-you didn't hear that!" I borderline yelled at the guy as I hid my face in shadows. Of course the one time I actually say something about my feelings some guy comes by at just the right moment!

"Hey pal, if you don't want me to know, then I won't ask. I'm here for training, not for counseling." He chuckled at my confused expression before continuing. "My name's Hal Jordan, first Green Lantern of Earth… to my knowledge. Black Canary said you needed help with constructs, so she asked me to help out. For now, come at me… And try not to hold back."

I grinned as I slammed my fists together. "Sorry about any damage to your face!" I taunted as shadows from around the room formed chains that wound around him and locked him in place as the shadow of my first solidified and went toward his face.

A bright green burst of energy shattered my chains and deflected my fist. He grinned before bringing forth a fist of his own and launching it toward me. I sidestepped, but the fist exploded as it past me making a multitude of smaller fist constructs that doubled back. I had enough time to only make a small shield that shattered after a few fists bounded back before it shattered and I had to jump out of the way. They slung back toward me and I copied Aqualad's twin swords and got to work on fighting them back but I could feel the blades cracking, as if his constructs were overpowering my mental state.

_What the hell are you doing? Get your ass in gear!_

That wake me up call was the only reason I didn't give up right then and there. He was here to train me and make me stronger; I didn't have time to wallow in pity. I held out a hand in his general direction ad squeezed. The shadow chains reappeared but this time it squeezed tight and it took him a while to break out of its grip.

"Not bad, kid. But you're limiting yourself a lot. You can only make simple things right now, am I right?"

I nodded and his grin widened a bit. "Well let's see if we can fix that before the team gets back, shall we?"


	6. Chapter 6

It's been a few days since the team left and Hal came in to train me. At the current moment, I am sitting down in the middle of a storm of complex slinky-like constructs that wind together, half of which are my shadows and the other half was formed by green energy.

"Not bad, but you're still a bit shaky on the movement!" His voice called from across the room.

I grunted, still deep in concentration. I was worried. Apparently, Batman had sent them to a place called Bialya and it was ruled by an enemy of the League so they had to maintain radio silence, which meant that I was out in the dark until they got home. They hadn't been away this long before so it was slightly unnerving how silent the Cave was when they're gone for so long.

My constructs shattered, and Hal flew himself over to my side of the room and sat down next to me.

"You're worried about your team aren't you?" Did I mention that Hal seems to have this uncanny ability to read me like a book without the special benefit of telekinesis? Like wow, it's actually starting to get annoying.

"You're right. Again." He laughed lightly about my slight irritation with his all-knowingness. "They've never been gone for so long… For a huge cave like this, it never really seemed empty before a few days ago. It was always filled with noise from the static coming from the television at almost all times of the day to Wally and Artemis arguing. The empty space was always filled until now, especially since Red left yesterday."

Hal smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "You see, kid? Here you were, just wasting your time away with worry. But now, you are that much stronger for it. You can do things you couldn't before, and once they get back you might actually be able to go out with them. Now come on, let's get some combat training in."

I smiled. Besides the fact that it was extremely cheesy the way he said it, what he actually said was true. My constructs were not so simple anymore; my sword actually looked like real blades with intricate designs, I could make more complicated constructs that were not just simple shapes, like guns and clones of me, and I realized that the outfit given to me by the old man could change at my command. I currently had it on what I liked to call hero mode, which is basically a mask like Hal's and a black leotard similar to what he had, except where the Lantern Corps insignia was there was a 'C' that looks kinda like a crescent moon. It was pretty cool to say the least.

He got into his fighting stance, arms raised like a pro boxer, while mine were a bit looser. He charged and I immediately ducked underneath his first blow, and then went for the uppercut. He stepped back just in time but my foot behind his caught him off guard. He managed to save himself from tripping, but that didn't give him enough time to block the fist that approached his chest. That and the fact that he was off-balance would have been a point for me, but I got careless; he grabbed me at the final moment and used the momentum to flip our positions, so I hit the ground. Since training began, I have learned to be more focused, but every now and then I still make mistakes. It's a pain, but there is a lot to learn, and it's much better than wasting my time away doing nothing.

"Not bad, but you need to learn to never take your eyes of your enemy, especially when he's wearing a mask and you don't know if he's unconscious or not. Trust me, that exact thing has happened to me on more than one occasion so it's important to know." He extended a hand to help me up and I took it, but I am not lying when I tell you I almost fell as the Zeta tube started up. It called them all, so everyone was okay! Superjerk's survival withstanding today turned out to be an excellent day.

"We're back! Woah, nice costume Cal!" M'gann flew over and nearly squeezed the air out of me. She let go to see Hal standing off to the side. "And who are-?"

"I'm one of the Green Lanterns, the more experienced, sophisticated, and generally more fun to be around-"

I cut him off. "He's my mentor."

She nodded with a smile that made me smile too, before his Royal Jerkwad came over. "Surprised to see you actually knowing someone, considering you aren't exactly the most connected here."

I glared at him as I countered with, "At least I wasn't abandoned by the person who was supposed to mentor me. The fact that someone volunteered to train me and not you makes me that much better than you, huh?"

"You are really asking for it, you know that?" I grinned at his challenge. At this point, the rest of the group's chatter was cut off as they stared between us.

"We've got time before Batman Zeta's in. Why don't we settle this now?" I taunted, wanting no more than to show everyone how I could actually fight at their level now.

"We just got back, we shouldn't be fighting after such a long mission." M'gann tried to step between us, but judging by the small sound she made, something told me Hal stopped her from doing so. It was almost as if he were giving me the thumbs-up and I was glad for it.

We broke apart only to make sure we could have running starts as everyone made a wide circle around us. "Don't get too angry when you're on the floor, okay?" And then he charged.

I let him get up close and personal to attempt to hit me. Superboy was strong, but in terms of punching speed, he was slower than most so I just dropped into my shadow and popped out of his. I tapped him on the shoulder, and as he turned around swinging, I grabbed his arm and used the momentum to try and swing him to the ground and end it quick but he managed to roll for a bit and then jump at me. This time I decided to show off my ability to make new constructs, so instead of dodging I used his shadow to make a fist rise up from underneath him. I laughed as he flew backward from the force.

"While you were doing whatever it was in Bialya, you sure got sloppy." I purposely lowered my guard to taunt him, but it was over. He landed on his back and everyone rushed over to him because heavens forbid the half-Kryptonian gets hurt for once in his life. Hal looked at me with concern, but I couldn't care less about anyone's pity. I left, hearing M'gann call for me as I trudged to my room.

It's odd, but I honestly got nothing from it. Watching him on the ground just made the bitterness intensify towards him, even more bitterness was going towards his direction because I knew people would not come crowding around me like that. I sunk into my bed and fell asleep, or tried to. The knocking at my door disturbed my attempts at just sleeping it off. I opened the door to find M'gann of all people standing there.

"Don't you have a Superjerk to look after?" I spat out, the rage still surrounding me like an aura.

"He'll be fine. I'm… more worried about you anyway." She looked up at me with concern in her eyes. I was tired of pity!

"I'm fine. It's him that needs to chill out."

"You _both _seemed pretty angry back there. Come on, talk to me." She nudged my shoulder, bringing a slight smile to my face.

"Fine, but I am only speaking over ice cream that I was promised almost a week ago."

She laughed as she flew toward the Zeta tubes, and I was hot on her heels. I might not be Kid Flash, but I ran just fast enough to let her win. Gotta make her smile, right? Besides, it's the little things that count.

"So should we go get some cartons, or actually go to an ice cream parlor? I haven't been to one of those, but television makes it seem like a lot of fun!" She had landed, and she was bouncing on her feet like a little girl who was overly excited. I will admit, it was pretty adorable.

"I've honestly never been to one either. Maybe we should go to an ice cream parlor? And get burgers, and pizza, and those little things that are like hot dogs, but they have that battery stuff on the outside!" The Team was given a little spending money here and there, and the first little installment was more than I had ever handled in my life: 50 whole dollars. I had saved mine, hadn't spent a dime until I planned on it today.

"You've never had any of that?" She asked quizzically, and I could tell she thought all humans ate this stuff on a daily basis.

"Not all people have the fortune for luxuries", I said somewhat bitterly as I put in the coordinates for my hometown. "But enough of my sob story, let's go! Daylight's a wasting!"

She laughed as I pulled her into the Zeta tube and was surprised to actually hear my designation for the first time.

"Recognized, Caligon. B Zero Zero."

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**A/N: Wow, a single review every chapter! I am so fortunate! And now we finally got Connor out of the way so get ready for the actual OC ship to sail.**


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